


slippers

by dames_for_jamesbarnes



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Clint and his Ugly Slippers, Established Relationship, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends With Benefits To Lovers, Halloween, M/M, The Last Unicorn reference, Tony Stark Has A Heart, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 07:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17076359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dames_for_jamesbarnes/pseuds/dames_for_jamesbarnes
Summary: “what are those… atrocities on your feet?” tony asks, peering up over his tablet and holograms, and clint suddenly is just giddy, giggling, gone.“they’re from my walmart back home,” he says, and it’s almost to the slippers, to the purple unicorns that squish with every step. his voice is syrupy sweet, and tony has to lean down just to get a better view of the ratty purple hair, the threadbare faces that are smiling serenely with closed eyes (with added eyelashes sewn in), and of course the shiny horns gone a little crooked. “aren’t they fuckinghideous?”





	slippers

clint isn't the most fashionable avenger, that much is obvious - he dresses either for pure comfort or pure combat, with very little in between. it's something that tony quickly gets used to, considering that pure comfort sometimes meant nothing at all, and he is more than okay with that when it comes to clint barton. 

however, the lengths clint would go for comfort boggled even the mind of a genius. 

“what are those… atrocities on your feet?” tony asks, peering up over his tablet and holograms, and clint suddenly is just giddy, giggling, gone.

clint is too old for them, surely, and it must be a joke, but he gazes down in adoration at the things on his feet, the truly and utterly ridiculous monstrosities.

“they’re from my walmart back home,” he says, and it’s almost to the slippers, to the purple unicorns that squish with every step. his voice is syrupy sweet, and tony has to lean down just to get a better view of the ratty purple hair, the threadbare faces that are smiling serenely with closed eyes (with added eyelashes sewn in), and of course the shiny horns gone a little crooked. “aren’t they fucking _hideous_?”

“that’s being kind,” tony retorts, and his disdain is obvious in the way he continues to stare at them. his own slippers are perfectly set aside, smooth suede outsides with a tasteful fuzzy interior, surely worth more than clint’s rent.

“i love them,” clint snaps back, and there’s a defensive frown on his face as he collapses on the equally expensive couch, grabbing the remote and watching the tv rise from the floor. “and nothing you say can change that.”

“they look like the last unicorn from that movie -"

"you mean _the last unicorn_?"

"- finally got caught and shot in the head,” the engineer says with a dry smirk, before lifting the tablet up again to begin scrolling through whatever science journal he was perusing that night.

clint doesn’t respond, his hearing aids having been clicked off in a moment of protest.

* * *

once he sees them once, tony begins seeing them everywhere. peeking out behind the couch, left at the tower after spending a morning with tony along with the night before. in meetings, on days when clint comes in looking particularly rough. on clint’s feet, walking in the hallways, coming down to the lab, tapping as he hums to a tune no one else can hear. the damn slippers take over, and each time tony just huffs out a laugh, or a sigh, or just rolls his eyes.

they’re ugly. they really are. but they’re there, and soon they’re nothing more than background noise that tony can ignore.

but then clint comes in one day from a mission, and tony just… he’s looking at a defeated man. shoulders slumped, hair a mess from his recon hood, and his body has aches that tony can’t massage out on the bed they’ve started sharing more and more. tony can’t help him, and he tries. he makes the hot chocolate, he gives him the kisses and the hugs and the jokes he can, but clint is crawling further into a scary hole before tony says, almost out of desperation -

“your slippers are by the couch, if you want ‘em?”

and.. it must be a miracle, or something, because there’s the tiniest smile on clint’s face, and tony can breathe again. all starts to feel right with the world.

and that night, as tony is getting ready for bed, for a night of holding clint and reminding him he’s all right and safe and _home_ , tony is for once thankful he saw the ugly slippers.

* * *

they stick around, and unbelievably, so does clint. weeks turn into months, and at that point tony and clint don’t just spend nights together, it’s weeks. the days apart for missions hurt more than ever, but the time together heals. tony wakes up with another man in his bed and he can’t get enough. goes to sleep feeling warm and wakes up warmer, as the nights begin to chill and fall arrives. clint puts on the slippers, and tony begins to grin the same as clint at the sight of them, tapping them with his toes, bringing them to medical rooms after bad missions and to landing pads after good ones. they’re a permanent fixture, and when someone else makes a comment clint no longer is alone is defending the unicorns.

they have a couple’s costume for halloween. mulder and scully from the show they’re binging, and tony has fingers running through a red wig when he looks at clint from across the room and thinks he might be in love.

and that night, when the makeup is washed off and the wig is gone and tony is sitting on the couch with a clint that fell asleep long ago, he finds himself missing the damn slippers, thinking clint isn’t complete without them perched on his feet.

* * *

“tony, what the hell are you wearing?” clint asks, voice so tired tony knows that as soon as this conversation is over the coffee in his hands will be downed in one go. his hair is wild, and his slippers are on his feet, but for once they’re not the center of attention that christmas morning.

“oh, these?” tony asks, and his grin is the definition of giddy as he taps his toes together. they don’t touch, because blocking them are a pair of iron man slippers. the eyes are misshapen, the red is too gaudy, and the gold is the brightest yellow either of them have ever seen. “aren’t they _awful_?”

clint is still agape, and he seems to drift closer against his will. a smile is starting to appear, but it’s fighting exhaustion. “what happened to your old ones?”

“oh, they’re in the closet,” tony reassures him, waving his hand, but the grin hasn’t faded, and he stands up so they can let out a soft puff of air. “thought we could match for christmas. and… i’m not even going to lie, i don’t think i want to take them off.”

the laugh clint lets out is loud and sudden, almost a cackle, and tony can’t stop smiling, not even when clint comes in for a kiss.

“you think we can find a pair of hawkeyes?” clint asks when he pulls away.

“consider it done.”


End file.
